Authorities have charged Jimmy Kearney, 18, with killing Robert Rouse during a robbery early Monday.
ELIZABETH -- His full name was Robert, but everyone called him Bobby or Bob.
Robert Rouse was a Marine veteran and a Star Trek fan. And as far as his son knew, Rouse had no enemies.
The 61-year-old was gunned down early Monday in an apparent robbery on the Elizabeth street where he lived. An 18-year-old city resident, Jimmy Kearney, has been charged in his killing.
Rouse's son, also named Robert Rouse, said his dad was likely walking to the train station early Monday as part of his hour-long trek to an electrical supply warehouse in Metuchen, where he worked as a forklift driver.
The younger Rouse last saw his dad Sunday, their traditional day to watch football and movies together. His dad told him that he recently bought a neon-yellow reflective jacket to make himself more visible while he walked to the North Elizabeth train in the dark.
"I don't know if that caused the attention or something," the younger Rouse said of his father's killing.
He spent Tuesday cleaning out his dad's one-bedroom apartment, where his father lived alone.
Robert Rouse was born in East Orange and spent part of his childhood in Newark. After he graduated from high school, he served in the Marines and traveled the world for several years.
Rouse met the woman who would become his wife at a now-shuttered Newark bar called Club Midas Gold. She was a bartender. He worked at a nearby post office.
"He'd go there after work, and they'd chat," Rouse's son said. "About three years later, I was born."
Rouse and his wife eventually divorced, but remained friends. He moved to Elizabeth around 2001.
Rouse rooted for the New York Giants, loved science fiction movies, and played softball and flag football. He wasn't very religious, but he believed in God, his son said.
His son's cousins and friends called him "Pops." He believed that people reap what they sow, and he was the mediator at family gatherings, the younger Rouse said.
"Any time there was a conflict, he was such a level-headed person," Rouse's son said. "He was always trying to find a solution that was peaceful."
Kearney, the man charged in Rouse's violent death, is being held on $750,000 bail. Kearney faces charges of murder, robbery and two related weapons offenses.
Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook.